


farewell, for it won’t be ‘so long’

by monyaka



Series: Maybe Interactive 2020 December Prompts [12]
Category: Taste of Infidelity (Visual Novel)
Genre: Airports, F/F, Goodbyes, Maybe Interactive 2020 December Prompts, Pining, Possibly Unrequited Love, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:12:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monyaka/pseuds/monyaka
Summary: before ailey leaves, jess has to tell her something. (set after the normal ending of taste of infidelity.)
Relationships: Ailey Rane/Jess
Series: Maybe Interactive 2020 December Prompts [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035726
Kudos: 2





	farewell, for it won’t be ‘so long’

**Author's Note:**

> the way that i clowned myself while writing this... the way i clowned myself hoping jess would be a secret route.......

_ i wanted to tell you before i left. _

her sneakers are smacking against the pavement, thud-thud-thud-thud, just as hard and fast as her heart slamming against her ribcage.

_ at least you. _

her breaths come out in short pants, her throat dry and raw. now that she’s paying attention to the gulps of air she’s taking in as she runs, she realizes that there’s tears in her eyes, snot in her nose. she must look awful, with her nose as red as her hair. but she doesn’t care about that. all she needs…

_ thank you for being such a good friend to me all this time. _

…is to get to the airport before the flight lifts off.

_ i don’t know if i’ll be able to come back. but i wish you the best of luck… with everything. _

“ailey!” jess is screaming, and she’s never felt so pathetic in her life. how would things have been different if she’d told ailey about the skeevy vibes she got from ed from the beginning? if she hadn’t dismissed her suspicions as jealousy, if she hadn’t tried to step aside? if she hadn’t encouraged ailey to surprise ed with something sexy… if ailey had never seen justin again? if ailey had realized why jess was always lending her clothes and offering her tips for her hair? 

“ _ ailey! _ ”

she turns with a shell-shocked look in her big, beautiful eyes. an angel. with her light hair under the harsh fluorescence of the airport, she looks like she’s got a halo round her head. maybe ed and catherine had managed to get everyone to think of her as nothing more than a heartless cheater, but to jess, ailey’s always been an angel. a beautiful, gullible angel, with a heart that’s so big that she couldn’t bear to leave ed or justin. she’d wanted to protect justin until the end, and this is the thanks she gets. who else would try to run away instead of fighting back, if not an angel?

“j-jess? i already… didn’t you say goodbye to me at the café?” but her voice tapers off as she sees the tears in her friend’s eyes, as she takes in how disheveled and depressed jess is. and like an angel, she tucks a lock of hair behind her own ear and tries for a smile. “thank you for seeing me off. you must have known it was lonely for me.”

“that’s not…”  _ that’s not why i came here.  _ but the words die in her throat. she looks at ailey, who has gathered up the last of her dignity and packed it away in these suitcases. she’s ready to start her new life, ready to leave everything behind. how unfair would it be to stand in her way? to admit that she loves her, that she’s loved her all this time? how selfish would it be to ask her to stay?

and she swallows, sniffles.  _ i love you. i love you. _ it shouldn’t be hard to say. it shouldn’t be hard to take ailey’s face in her hands and kiss her. it  _ shouldn’t _ . but it is, because the longer she trails off, the more confused ailey looks. so she forces a teary smile and goes in.

“oh!” even when ailey’s surprised, she sounds like an angel. and jess buries her face in the crook of her neck, squeezes her tight. because best friends aren’t there to kiss you when your life is in shambles. best friends aren’t there to intrude on your plans. best friends are there… to hug you goodbye, and to pretend it isn’t the last time. ailey’s hands rest on her back, rubbing gentle circles into it. “i’ll miss you too. i’ll m-miss you so, so much.” ailey’s voice breaks, and so does jess’s heart.

even now, ailey’s being strong. so jess peels herself away even if it’s the last thing she wants to do. she cups ailey’s cheek, searches her wonderful eyes.

… and silently, she says goodbye.

“you’re going to be amazing out there. c-call me, okay?”

“okay.” and then she says it. out loud, like it’s final. “goodbye… jess.” is it just her, or is there a note of hesitation in ailey’s voice? is there a note of disappointment? did she want… more? 

_ i love you. _ but the words dry up in her throat, and ailey starts to walk away. she gets smaller and smaller and smaller in her sight. and then she looks over her shoulder. jess waves, and considers blowing a kiss. but she doesn’t. and after a moment, ailey turns back and exits through the departure gate. jess has been saying goodbye to ailey for years and years. every time ailey called jess her best friend. every time she vented to her about ed or justin. every time she smiled when she caught jess staring at her. she’s done it so many times that this farewell shouldn’t hurt. 

but it does, doesn’t it?


End file.
